Why PCSSL?

Because you can enjoy competitive games in "rec level" soccer.

PCSSL is a developmental league for AYSO's recreational level programs, but in most cases our games still have many of the same intense ingredients as any competitive league: motivated players, excited fans, dedicated refs and fields and all the conditions for a great game. Sure, with rec-level players, our dribbling feints may not always work, our volleys might not always be on target, but such elite skills are not required for kids to feel and to respond to the pressures and challenges of competitive matches.

True, very few of our players will ever reach the upper levels of soccer competition. The stakes in this league are mostly just bragging rights; no one is getting promoted or relegated; no child's path to a future scholarship is at risk here. And yet, by selecting players who ready and eager to compete, by enabling the right conditions for them to enjoy competing, our games are just as intense as is typical for any of the "comp leagues". And as is common with good soccer, the game is the teacher, teaching our kids how to handle victory (and loss) as well as the value of teamwork, and effort, and perseverance.

And we do this within AYSO's famed "Six Philosophies" environment; building on decades of investment in player development, positive coaching, good sportsmanship, and everybody plays. Ask any of our players (especially any who have just lost their game) and it is clear that winning matters, but by the end of our season the win/loss record is not the most important metric -- the key metric here is how many players want to come back for the next season.

The reason why this league works is because of the community of coaches we are able to build. From the first pre-season meetings all the way through the final awards deliveries, our coaches are continually engaged in discussion about how to sustain and improve our focus on the playing experience. Any league can suffer from problematic matches (lopsided blowouts, ugly behavior, exhibitions of a winning-at-all-costs approach), but AYSO's environment provides us a strong foundation to challenge ourselves to actively address and minimize these issues, and do so with the full support of the league and the enthusiastic support of many coordinators from dozens of Regions who facilitate our league.

One Example

For our players, the PCSSL difference is how our priorities can shift the focus from playing-to-win over towards playing better.

For our coaches, the difference comes from how this league leans into the AYSO philosophies, and how we can use those tools to enhance the competitiveness of our games.

To pick one example out of many, a recent 14U game in PCSSL included a moment of improper behavior that resulted in a player being show a red-card -- an unfortunate overly emotional reaction from a young player who came to appreciate the degrees of his mistake. Where this becomes a useful example is how the opposing coach later found the teachable moment for her players.

The following quotes a letter from a PCSSL coach to her 14U-Boys team [with minor edits to redact specifically-identifiable details]

Representing Ourselves with Class

Team,

I want to take a moment to talk about something really important: how we represent ourselves on and off the field.

Sunday’s game was challenging in a lot of ways. Sometimes, things don’t go our way—calls are tough, emotions run high, and the game can feel frustrating. But no matter what the situation is, we always have to choose to act with integrity and good sportsmanship. That means showing respect for the game, your teammates, the other team, the referees, your family, your city, and AYSO.

During Sunday’s game, a player on the other team received a red card for his behavior. The PCSSL takes this seriously and as a result, I have been in an exchange with the other team's coaches, the directors of PCSSL and our regional coordinators about this incident. In this exchange, I learned about some unsettling comments made to the other team's players coming from a few players on our team.

This is a reminder that how we act matters, it sets a tone, and people are watching—even when we don’t realize it.

I want to end with a couple of moments that really stood out to me this season and I hope to see more in the games to come.

In our Mountain View game, Angel T helped an opposing player up from the grass after battling for the ball. That small gesture said a lot about his character and about who we are as a team.

And after our game against San Bruno, a player from the other team came up to me and said, “Thanks for coaching.” In all the years I've been coaching, a player from another team has never said that to me. That left me with a lasting positive impression of that team, their city, their coaches. I later saw the player's family and told them what he said to me.

That’s the kind of impression we want to leave behind on and off the field—kindness, respect, and class.

Let’s keep building that kind of team culture. Let’s help others up, play fair, and support each other no matter what the scoreboard says. Coach Ryan and I appreciate all of you, and we're proud to be your coach.

Thank you,

Michelle

Google Sites

Report abuse